U.S. patent number 5,183,190 [Application Number 07/798,499] was granted by the patent office on 1993-02-02 for foldable garment display hanger.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Different Dimensions, Inc.. Invention is credited to Andrew M. Zuckerman.
United States Patent |
5,183,190 |
Zuckerman |
February 2, 1993 |
Foldable garment display hanger
Abstract
A foldable garment hanger capable of being attached to and
folded with a garment and then boxed, if necessary, and shipped
with the garment in a minimum of space so that the hanger needs
merely to be unfolded with the garment and hung upon arrival at the
retail store. The hanger is comprised of a hanger body, a
suspension member and two arms, each with garment retaining means
at its end. The arms are connected by a living hinge that enables
the arms to be folded toward each other. The suspension member
possesses latching means and is connected to the body by a hinge
that enables the suspension member to be folded along the hinge and
latched to the body arms for support in hanging of the hanger.
Inventors: |
Zuckerman; Andrew M. (Forest
Hills, NY) |
Assignee: |
Different Dimensions, Inc.
(Rego Park, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
25173557 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/798,499 |
Filed: |
November 26, 1991 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
223/96; 223/89;
223/DIG.4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G
25/32 (20130101); A47G 25/4038 (20130101); A47G
25/485 (20130101); Y10S 223/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47G
25/48 (20060101); A47G 25/32 (20060101); A47G
25/40 (20060101); A47G 25/00 (20060101); A47G
025/48 (); A47G 025/28 () |
Field of
Search: |
;223/94,89,DIG.4,DIG.3,85,87,88,96,92,95 ;211/113
;D6/326,315,323,324 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
128362 |
|
Jun 1946 |
|
AU |
|
1119387 |
|
Jul 1968 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Schoroeder; Werner H.
Assistant Examiner: Mohanty; Bibhu
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Amster, Rothstein &
Ebenstein
Claims
I claim:
1. A foldable garment hanger, comprising:
(a) a body and a hanging means, said body having a length along a
generally horizontal axis when said hanger is suspended by said
hanging means;
(b) said body comprising two substantially rigid extended body
arms, each arm having a free end and a base, each arm having
retaining means adjacent its free end for securing garments during
both shipping and display, and each arm constituting a portion of
said length of said body, said body arms being connected one to
another at their respective bases by a living hinge, so that said
body arms may be folded together and positioned in side-by-side
relation to decrease said length of said body;
(c) said hanging means comprising a suspension member and a widened
collar, said collar being attached to the lower edge of one of said
body arms adjacent to said hanger body living hinge, along the edge
of said collar opposite said suspension member, this attachment
being via another living hinge so that said suspension member and
collar may be folded, inverted and positioned in side-by-side
relation to said attached body arm or body arms; and
(d) latching means for securing said suspension member and collar
to said hanger body when said suspension member and collar are
folded about said suspension member living hinge, for use in
display hanging.
2. The hanger of claim 1 wherein the suspension member is a
hook.
3. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said suspension member, suspension
member collar, body arms, living hinges and garment retaining means
are all molded as single unitary element.
4. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said suspension member collar is
attached to both said body arms via said suspension member living
hinge along entire width of suspension member collar, and hanger
body living hinge extends across suspension member collar, so that
suspension member collar may fold with body arms when body arms are
folded for shipping.
5. The hanger of claim 1 which further comprises a second living
hinge connecting one of said body arms to said first living hinge,
so as to permit a space to exist between said bases of said body
arms when said body arms are folded together along both said
hinges, in which space a garment secured by said garment retaining
means may fit during shipping.
6. The hanger of claim 1 which further comprises a second living
hinge connecting one of said body arms to said first living hinge,
said hinges being widely-spaced substantially parallel hinges, so
as to permit the garment hanger to be folded into three
sections.
7. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said latching means comprises one
or more widened members protruding outward from said front faces of
bases of body arms, each of an inverted cross-sectional L-shape
with a supporting leg and a head portion extending from top of said
leg portion, and one or more corresponding openings in said
suspension member collar, which both cooperate to allow said
L-shaped member to pass through said corresponding opening and
allow said head portion of said L-shaped member to rest on the
outer edge of said opening.
8. The hanger of claim 7 wherein said latching means comprises one
or more inverted L-shaped stud members positioned along the
direction of the axis of the suspension member living hinge.
9. The hanger of claim 7 wherein said latching means comprises one
or more inverted L-shaped stud members positioned along the
direction of the axis of the hanger body living hinge.
10. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said latching means comprises one
or more peg members protruding outward from said front faces of
bases of body arms, each tapered studs with top end diameters
larger than attached end diameters, and one or more corresponding
openings in said suspension member collar, said openings having
diameters slightly smaller than diameters of top ends of said pegs,
which both cooperate to permit said pegs to be forced through said
corresponding openings and to remain there securely.
11. The hanger of claim 1 which further comprises guiding means for
further use in securing said suspension member and collar to said
hanger body, said guiding means comprising one or more peg members
protruding outward from said front faces of bases of body arms and
one or more corresponding openings in said suspension member
collar, said openings having diameters slightly larger than
diameters of said pegs, which both cooperate to permit said pegs to
fit through said corresponding openings.
12. A foldable garment hanger, comprising:
(a) a body and a hanging means, said body having a length along a
generally horizontal axis when said hanger is suspended by said
hanging means;
(b) said body comprising two substantially rigid extended body
arms, each having a free end and a base, and each constituting a
portion of said length of said body, said body arms connected one
to another at their respective bases by a first hinge and a second
hinge, so that said body arms may be folded together and positioned
in side-by-side relation to decrease said length of said body, said
first hinge connecting one of said body arms to a spacer and said
second hinge connecting the other of said body arms to said spacer
so as to permit a space to exist between said bases of said body
arms when said body arms are folded together along both said
hinges;
(c) said hanging means comprising a suspension member and a widened
collar, said collar attached to one of said body arms, this
attachment being via another hinge so that said suspension member
and collar may be positioned in side-by-side relation to said body
arms; and
(d) latching means for securing said suspension member and collar
to said hanger body when said suspension member and collar are in
side-by-side relation to said body arms.
13. The hanger of claim 12 wherein each of said body arms have
retaining means at its free end for securing garments.
14. A foldable garment hanger, comprising:
(a) a body and a hanging means, said body having a length along a
generally horizontal axis when said hanger is suspended by said
hanging means;
(b) said body comprising two substantially rigid extended body
arms, each having a free end and a base, and each constituting a
portion of said length of said body, said body arms connected one
to another at their respective bases by a first hinge and a second
hinge, so that said body arms may be folded together and positioned
in side-by-side relation to decrease said length of said body, said
first hinge connecting one of said body arms to a spacer and said
second hinge connecting the other of said body arms to said spacer
so as to permit a space to exist between said bases of said body
arms when said body arms are folded together along both said
hinges;
(c) said hanging means comprising a suspension member and a widened
collar, said collar attached to the lower edge of one of said body
arms along the edge of said collar opposite said suspension member,
this attachment being via another hinge so that said suspension
member and collar may be positioned in side-by-side relation to
said body arms; and
(d) latching means for securing said suspension member and collar
to said hanger body when said suspension member and collar are in
side-by-side relation to said body arms and said body arms are not
in side-by-side relation with each other.
15. The hanger of claim 14 wherein each of said body arms have
retaining means at its free end for securing garments.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to garment hangers which are primarily used
to ship clothing from the manufacturer to the retailer. More
particularly, this invention relates to garment hangers for
garments of the type that could be folded or boxed and shipped
unhung to retail stores.
Garments that are to be displayed hanging at the retail store may
be shipped folded and boxed from the manufacturer to the retailer.
This process usually involves the extra time and labor of applying
hangers to the garments at the retail store prior to display. It is
desirable to provide garment hangers that allow the garments to be
prehung by the manufacturer so that the garments may be immediately
hung and displayed upon arrival at the retail store, thereby
avoiding the extra time and labor of applying hangers to the
garments.
One prior method for shipping prehung garments, disclosed in U.S.
Pat. No. 4,565,309, involves first draping the garment over the
lower of two jaw-like horizontal bars joined at one end by a hinge
and then clamping the upper horizontal bar down over the garment
onto the lower bar by means of a clamp at the opposite end. Another
method, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,265, involves first
draping the garment over a lower horizontal bar and then clamping
the garment to the parallel upper horizontal bar by folding the
lower bar up and latching it at both ends to the upper bar. In both
of these cases, a hanger hook is rigidly connected to the upper of
the two horizontal bars to allow hanging of the prehung garments
immediately after shipping.
Although these prior devices allow the garment to be shipped
prehung and allow the hanger and garment to be hung immediately
after shipping, the width of the hanger body and the protrusion of
the hook occupy valuable shipping space. It is desirable to provide
a garment hanger that would allow the garment to be shipped
prehung, while itself occupying only a minimum of space during
shipping.
The hangers disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,870,206 and 4,932,571
avoid the problem caused by the hook's protrusion by providing
hooks that fold down when the hanger is not in hanging use. The
hanger disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,206 allows the hinged hook
to fold down and fit within the hanger body. U.S. Pat. No.
4,932,571 allows the hook and other parts of the hanger frame to
fold inside an outer frame for storage of the hanger when not in
use. These hanger devices are also not suitable for shipping
because, even though their hooks no longer protrude, their width
and, in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,571, height still occupy
valuable shipping space. Moreover, neither of these hangers
provides any means for securing a garment during shipping.
Additionally, none of these prior devices works for garments that
are not simply draped over a horizontal bar but require additional
folding or boxing as well. Because these devices provide, at most,
horizontal bars which are clamped to each other, any garment that
is not simply draped over a horizontal bar, but requires folding or
boxing rather than hanging or in addition to hanging, may not be
shipped using these prior devices.
It is desirable to provide a foldable garment hanger that could be
attached to the garment, folded along with the garment and, if
necessary, boxed for shipping along with the garment.
Alternatively, it is desirable to provide a garment hanger that
could be attached to the pre-folded garment and then, if necessary,
boxed for shipping along with the garment. The advantage of this
foldable hanger is that the hanger would need only to be unfolded
with the garment and then hung in order to be displayed. This would
save the time and labor ordinarily spent in applying hangers to the
garments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a molded plastic one-piece garment hanger
including a substantially rigid hook and two substantially rigid
horizontal body arms. Each arm has garment retaining means at its
end. The hook is connected by its collar to one of the body arms
via a living hinge that allows the hook to fold up along an axis of
rotation parallel to and in the plane of the body arms in their
open position.
The two body arms are connected via a living hinge which allows the
two arms to fold together along an axis of rotation substantially
perpendicular to the arms in the plane of the hanger. This allows
the hanger to be folded for shipping along with the garment. By
then folding the hook down alongside the folded grasped garment,
the hanger is able to fit with the garment in a shipping container.
Due to the compact shape of the folded hanger, the hanger folded
within the garment will occupy little, if any, additional space in
the shipping container.
Each arm possesses at its base near the hanger body living hinge
protruding stud members that latch into corresponding openings on
the hook collar. These stud members lock the hanger arms in the
open position when the hook folds up. This latching action allows
the hanger to be hung with the attached garment. These latches can
be made so that they do not lock permanently in order that the
hanger may be unfolded and used again for shipping.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a garment
hanger that may be attached to the garment and then folded or boxed
with the garment prior to shipping so as to be immediately hung by
the retailer.
It is another object of this invention to provide a garment hanger
that may be attached to a folded garment and then boxed with the
folded garment prior to shipping so as to be immediately hung by
the retailer.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a garment
hanger that may be shipped while attached to the garment and while
folded or boxed with the garment without itself occupying much
space.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the garment hanger of the
present invention in its fully open position.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the
latching mechanism and the hook collar living hinge taken along the
plane of line 2--2 in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a fragmented cross-sectional view of the preferred
embodiment of the hanger body living hinge taken along the plane of
line 3--3 in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a side elevational top end perspective view of the hanger
with the two body arms folded together.
FIG. 5 is a side elevational top end perspective view of the hanger
with the two body arms folded together and the hook folded up
alongside the folded arms.
FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the hanger with the hook
folded up and the arms locked in their open position.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the engaged latching mechanism
taken along the plane of line 7--7 in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a fragmented top side end perspective view of an
alternative embodiment of the latching mechanism.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of
the latching mechanism and the hook collar living hinge taken along
the plane of line 9--9 in FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the engaged alternative
latching mechanism embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the hanger in its fully open
position under an alternative embodiment of the hanger body living
hinge.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a foldable garment
display hanger 10 of the present invention in its fully open
position. The hanger has an elongate and preferably planar body 11
composed of two extended body arms 12, 13 and a hanging means such
as a hook 14 preferably, though not necessarily, at its center for
supporting the hanger 10. The entire hanger structure may be formed
of any suitable injection-moldable material, such as plastic,
preferably as a one-piece integral structure.
Each of the two extended body arms 12, 13 has a free end 15, 16 and
a base portion 17, 18 and is connected to the other arm at its
respective base via a living hinge 19. Each of the body arms should
preferably have the cross-sectional shape roughly of an I-beam to
give the arm the rigidity needed when pulled in the plane of the
hanger by the weight of the garment. Each arm should preferably
have upper and lower flanges that should be joined preferably by at
least one intermediate vertical transverse web strut for added
strength. Each body arm has an integrally molded garment retaining
means 23 at its end.
The living hinge 19 divides the hanger body 11, preferably, though
not necessarily, at its approximate midpoint into the two body arms
12, 13. In a preferred embodiment, the living hinge 19 comprises
two closely spaced hinges 24 which lie along two substantially
parallel axes in the plane of the fully open hanger body 11. These
hinges are formed by known means in the art, such that the hinges
24 are made of the same material as the body arms 12, 13 but are
made substantially thinner in order to facilitate flexing when the
body arms 12, 13 are folded along the hinges 24. FIG. 3 illustrates
the reduced material thickness of the hinges 24 that together form
the living hinge 19.
An alternative embodiment is one in which the living hinge 19
comprises only one hinge, formed by known means as described above.
This embodiment, however, is less desirable since it might not
allow sufficient space between the folded body arms near the hinge
19 to fit the garment that has been folded with the body arms.
Alternatively, the living hinge 19 may comprise two hinges 24 as in
the preferred embodiment that are not closely spaced, but rather
are spaced farther apart (FIG. 11). This embodiment allows a
garment and its attached hanger to be folded into three sections
rather than two. The advantage of this embodiment is that it allows
for a three-section fold pattern that may be more appropriate for a
particular garment than a two-section fold pattern.
Referring again to FIG. 1, the hanging means 14 is typically a hook
but may be any other suitable suspension apparatus, such as a ring.
The hook 14 extends into a widened collar 26 for support. The hook
collar 26 is connected to the hanger body 11 via a living hinge 27
that extends along the edge of the hook collar 26 opposite the hook
14 and attaches the hook collar 26 to the hanger body 11 along the
lower edge of the base 17 of only one hanger body arm 12. The
result is that part of the hook collar 26 extends past the hanger
body living hinge 19 alongside the other body arm 13.
In the preferred embodiment, the living hinge 27 extends along not
more than half the hook collar 26 along the edge opposite the hook
14. In this embodiment, when the hook collar 26 is folded up and
latched to the hanger arms 12, 13 in their open position, the
hanger arms are secured in their open position and are prevented
from folding together. Alternatively, the living hinge 27 may
extend along more than half the hook collar 26 leaving the
remaining unhinged section of the hook collar 26 to latch to the
unattached body arm 13. Although less rigid, this embodiment may be
more desirable for reasons relating to the particularities of the
garment.
Another alternative embodiment of the hook collar living hinge 27
is one in which the hook collar 26 is connected to the hanger body
11 via a living hinge 27 that extends along the full width of the
hook collar 26 and attaches the hook collar 26 to both hanger arms
12, 13. In this embodiment, the hanger body living hinge 19 would
extend down, across the hook collar living hinge 27, across the
hook collar 26 to allow the hook collar to fold along this hinge 19
when the body arms are folded together in FIG. 2.
Note that in the previously described third embodiment of the
hanger body living hinge 19 (FIG. 11) wherein the two hinges 24 are
widely spaced, the hook collar 26 must be wider than in the first
two hanger body living hinge embodiments in order to extend past
the two hinges 24 alongside the unattached body arms 12, 13 so as
to be able to latch onto each unattached body arm 12, 13.
The hinge 27 is formed by known means in the art. As with the
hanger body hinge 19, this hinge 27 is made of the same material as
the body arms 12, 13 and hook 14 but is made substantially thinner
in order to facilitate flexing when the hook collar 26 is folded
alongside the body arms 12, 13 for hanging and for shipping. FIG. 2
illustrates the reduced material thickness of this living hinge
27.
The garment retaining means 23 may be any of those in the prior art
suitable for attachment of all types of garments, whether to be
hung or folded. A clamp 23, shown open in FIG. 1, is one form of
retaining means that may be used to secure the garments properly
during shipping and during display hanging. In one embodiment,
shown closed in FIGS. 4 and 5, the clamp may have a pair of jaws 28
joined by a thin, flexible hinge 29. The inner edges of the jaw
ends are preferably molded with grooves or teeth 30 to engage and
grip the garment between them. The jaws 28 are secured together by
a folded strip 31 that slides tightly into slots 32 (see FIG. 1) on
the outer surface of the jaws when the jaws are closed. This strip
31 may be metal, plastic or any other suitable rigid material.
When used in a retail store to display garments, the hanger 10 will
normally be used in the partially-folded hanging position
illustrated in FIG. 6. Referring again to FIG. 1, the hook 14 must
be folded up alongside the hook collar living hinge 27 and secured
to the hanger body 11. For use in securing the hook 14 to the
hanger body 11, each body arm 12, 13 possesses at its base 17, 18
close to the hanger body living hinge 19 at least one protruding
latching means member 20, 21, 22 to latch into a corresponding
opening or aperture 33, 34, 35 in the hook collar 26. The hook
collar 26 possesses these latching means openings 33, 34, 35 at
both ends of the collar 26, positioned to cooperate with the
protruding members 20, 21, 22.
Thus, in the hanging position, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the hook
collar 26 covers the bases 17, 18 of the body arms so that any
protruding latching members 20, 21, 22 on the body arms 12, 13
latch into the openings 33, 34, 35 in the hook collar 26. The hook
collar 26 extends along each hanger arm 12, 13 when folded up via
living hinge 27 and latched to the hanger body 11. This latching
means serves to lock the hook collar 26 to the hanger arms 12, 13
in their open position so as to provide support for both the hook
14 and the hanger body 11 when the hanger and garment are hung.
One embodiment of this latching means is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and
7. Here, the protruding latching members are stud members 20, 21,
22 that are widened protrusions, each of an inverted
cross-sectional L-shape, which snap through and latch onto the
edges of the respective corresponding openings 33, 34, 35 in the
hook collar 26.
In one arrangement of latching means within this embodiment, the
stud members 20, 21 are positioned horizontally at the upper edges
of the body arm bases 17, 18. The corresponding openings 33, 34 are
also positioned horizontally at the hook collar edges opposite the
hinge 27 so as to cooperate with stud member 20, 21. This
orientation gives the latching means latching strength about the
horizontal axis of the hook collar living hinge 27.
In an alternative arrangement of latching means within this
embodiment, protruding stud member 22 is positioned vertically, in
an orientation transverse to and at a 90.degree. clockwise rotation
from the orientation of stud members 20, 21 as illustrated in FIG.
1, at the side edge of the arm base area 18 of the body arm 13
unconnected by the hook collar living hinge 27 to the hook collar
26. The corresponding opening 35 is also positioned vertically on
the hook collar side edge so as to cooperate with stud member 22.
This orientation and position adds latching strength about the
vertical axis of the hanger body living hinge 19 by preventing the
body arm 13, which is not connected to the hook collar 26 by the
living hinge 27, from folding backward toward the other body arm 12
when the hanger is in its hanging position of FIG. 6.
In the preferred embodiment, this vertical latching member 22
should be present on the garment hanger 10 along with horizontal
latching members 20, 21 for maximum latching strength and support
of the hanger in its hanging position. However, the latching
mechanism will function without the vertical latching member 22.
Alternatively, the latching mechanism will function if the vertical
latching member 22 and only one horizontal latching member are
present.
In an alternative embodiment of the latching means, shown in FIGS.
8 and 9, the protruding latching members are pegs 36, 37 which
taper out from the hanger arm bases 17, 18 so that their top edges
are of greater diameter than their bottoms attached to the hanger
arm bases. These pegs then snap into corresponding openings 38, 39
in the hook collar 26 to secure the hanger (FIG. 10).
For further use in securing the hook collar 26 to the hanger body
11, each body arm 12, 13 may possess at its base 17, 18 close to
the hanger body living hinge 19 at least one protruding guiding
means member 40, 41 to fit into a corresponding opening in the hook
collar 42, 43. The hook collar possesses these guiding means
openings 42, 43 positioned to cooperate with the protruding guiding
means members 40, 41.
One embodiment of the guiding means is illustrated in FIG. 1. Here
the protruding guiding means members 40, 41 are cylindrical pegs at
the base 17, 18 of each body arm 12, 13 that fit through the round
guiding means openings 42, 43 in the hook collar 26. The diameters
of the protruding members 40, 41 are slightly smaller than those of
the corresponding openings 42, 43 in order to allow the protruding
members 40, 41 to fit through the corresponding openings 42,
43.
When used for shipping, the garment hanger 10 is changed from its
fully open position (FIG. 1) into its shipping position by folding
the hanger body arms 12, 13 together along living hinge 19 as
illustrated in FIG. 4. If the hanger 10 was in its hanging position
(FIG. 6), the resulting intermediate configuration is as
illustrated in FIG. 4. The hook 14 and hook collar 26 are then
folded down along living hinge 27 in order not to protrude during
shipping. Alternatively, from the hanging position, first the hook
14 and hook collar 26 are folded down along living hinge 27 and
then the hanger body arms 12, 13 are folded together along living
hinge 19.
The hanger may be applied to the garment prior to folding and then
folded for shipping with the garment or it may be folded and
applied to an already folded garment. As mentioned earlier, the
space formed between the hanger arms 12, 13 when the hanger body 11
is folded along the two hinges 24 which compose the living hinge 19
in the preferred embodiment allows for the garment grasped by the
garment retaining means 23 to be folded with the hanger 10.
As shown in FIG. 4, folding down the hook 14 while the hanger body
11 is already folded with the garment compacts the shape of the
hanger for shipping. This fold allows the hook to be "hidden"
alongside the garment grasped by retaining means 23, thereby saving
valuable shipping space by not protruding. At the same time, as
FIG. 5 also illustrates, the hook collar 26 may be latched to the
hanger arm 12 by cooperation of the protruding stud member 20 on
the hanger arm 12 with the corresponding aperture 33 on the hook
collar 26. Since the other hanger arm 13 is folded back in the
position of FIG. 5, the protruding stud members 21, 22 on that
other hanger arm 13 remains unlatched to their corresponding
apertures 34, 35 on the hook collar 26.
Having described and illustrated a preferred embodiment and several
modifications thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in
the art that other modifications may be made without departing from
the principles of the invention. Such modifications are to be
considered as included in the appended claims unless these claims,
by their language, expressly state otherwise.
* * * * *